Just Good Friends
by Spiffy Da WonderSheep
Summary: COMPLETE! Changed part of chapter 4 also. S/D, don't scream so loud! It's good, or so I'm told. I promise, I don't usually write this sappy-sweet
1. One

Title: Just Good Friends  
  
Author: Spiffy Da WonderSheep  
  
Rating: PG for some cussing (bad Dawn!)  
  
Spoilers: Up to the Gift. Five years in the future though.  
  
Distribution: Eh, whatever. Warn me first please.  
  
Summary: Dawn gets a new boyfriend, and Buffy doesn't approve.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except a box of crackerjacks and 8 grand worth of student loans. If you want those, please feel free to sue ;-) I promise Joss I won't get the Buffyverse dirty, I'm just borrowing them for a bit of amusement. This is a Spike/Dawn fic, but please! before you scream and click away, give it a chance.  
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Part I  
  
Dr. Buffy Summers was sitting in her office, reading a riveting article entitled, "Inquiries into the Abundance of Vampire Cults Among Youth in Southern California" by Dr. Cordelia Chase-Gunn. Professor Johnson at UC Sunnydale had once commented on the oddity of so many abnormal psychologists coming out of the town. She had her own ideas on the subject, but she kept them to herself. Psychologists may think themselves liberal and open-minded, but reality rarely mirrored that.   
  
She glanced up at the Spoiler Board, more out of habit than anything else. The device with the preposterous name consisted of twelve glass globes, which were currently dormant, as they had been for a good long while. Willow and Tara had whipped up several of these great devices for each of the Scooby Gang members, and were quietly marketing them with the help of Anya to demon hunters and other magic practitioners. Ever since Faith had been parolled and had taken up residence with her and Dawn, the town had quieted a lot. Sunnydale was always better when there was an active Slayer roaming around. She turned back to her article with a little smile on her face.  
  
There was a *thud!* from Dawn's room that startled her out of her reverie. The Spoiler Board was bathing her in a steady red glow which meant one thing: vampires in the house. She opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a stake, old reflexes kicking in. Something was bothering her tactical mind as she quickly covered the distance from her office to Dawn's bedroom. The Board was supposed to flash a warning when the demons approached the house, but there had been no such occurrence. She knocked on the door, and then with no pause opened it.  
  
"Dawn, vampires in the... oh my God!" She stopped in her tracks when what was going on in the room registered on her neural cortex.  
  
"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike unceremoniously dove out the window, leaving behind a tousled bed, a pair of faded jeans, and a disheveled Dawn in his wake.  
  
"Wha--- wha---?" was all that Buffy could say as Faith appeared behind her, ready for action with a crossbow in her hand.  
  
"What's the sitch?" she asked.  
  
"Buffy just decided to scare my boyfriend off," Dawn said.   
  



	2. Two

Title: Just Good Friends  
  
Author: Spiffy Da WonderSheep  
  
Rating: PG for some cussing (bad Dawn!)  
  
Spoilers: Up to the Gift. Five years in the future though.  
  
Distribution: Eh, whatever. Warn me first please.  
  
Summary: Dawn gets a new boyfriend, and Buffy doesn't approve.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except a box of crackerjacks and 8 grand worth of student loans. If you want those, please feel free to sue ;-) I promise Joss I won't get the Buffyverse dirty, I'm just borrowing them for a bit of amusement. This is a Spike/Dawn fic, but please! before you scream and click away, give it a chance.  
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Part II  
  
Faith puttered around the kitchen, assembling two cups of hot chocolate. "We knew she was dating someone," she said. "And she'd been studying with Willow and Tara, so she'd know how to make an amulet that blocked the Spoiler Board."  
  
Buffy slammed her hand down on the kitchen table, causing the salt and pepper shakers to dance. "But SPIKE?"  
  
Faith shrugged. "Makes sense to me."  
  
"How does that make any sense? I mean, really, please, tell me, I'm completely at a loss here."   
  
"Willow told me how he took care of her while you were, ah---"  
  
"Dead."  
  
"Yeah. That. Well, it's been obvious for a long time she's liked him."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Haven't you noticed? They're not just good friends, they're Just Good Friends." Faith accented each of the last three words, adding a little hip wiggle and arched eyebrow to emphasize her point.  
  
"I--- I guess not." She grinned and said sarcastically, "That's a great commentary on my abilities as a psychiatrist. I thought he kept skulking around because he still had a crush on me."  
  
"Are you really angry at her?"  
  
Buffy considered for a moment. "No, I mean, really, who am I to talk? I dated his sire after all. And the last six years, he's proven himself to be a good guy. It was just... a bit of a shock."   
  
"You should probably tell her that."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said, standing up and turning to go upstairs.  
  
"Nuh uh," Faith said, "she's not up there any more.   
  
"What?"  
  
"You're slipping, B," Faith said. "I heard her sneak out over ten minutes ago. I bet she's already at Spike's crypt."  
  
Buffy stared at her incredulously. "I'm going to kill him!" She shouted.  
  



	3. Three

Just Good Friends  
  
Disclaimer: I only own four rolls of film worth of pictures from my trip to Japan and some airline peanuts, everythign else is owned by the Powers that Be, AKA Joss and Co., I'm just borrowing them to keep me from going MAAAAAAAD dealing with my sister.  
  
Part III  
  
"You can't leave me like this," Dawn said. There was no hysterical teenage angst, just a statement of fact.  
  
"When a Slayer starts chasing after me with pointy bits of wood," Spike said, throwing clothes into a duffel bag, "It is usually prudent for me to leave town if I don't want to end up in the dustbin."  
  
"I can't live without you."  
  
Spike stopped in the midst of his packing, and tilted Dawn's tearstreaked face up to look him in the eye. "Nibblet, I don't like it either."  
  
"Then stay!"  
  
He kissed away the tears. "A few months in LA, everything will blow over with your sister, and your own little Spikey will be back in the 'Dale."  
  
"Let's get married," Dawn blurted out.  
  
"What?" Spike exclaimed.  
  
"In Las Vegas, we can do the drive-through chapel at night. I-I'm pretty sure there aren't any crosses there. And everything's enclosed, there's little risk of sun. If we leave now, we can get there before sunrise."  
  
"Oh, yeah, that'll really get your sister back on my good side. Let's see, it only took me three years after my girlfriend killed her best friend, for marrying her sister it'll probably take... oh... five hundred years!"  
  
"You don't love me?" She asked, her chin wobbling.  
  
"Of course I love you! It's just---"  
  
Dawn started ticking off on her fingers. "I've got access to my trust fund, so we have enough money to keep us in something nicer than Motel 6.You've got the chip, so you couldn't hurt me no matter what. I can get you blood easy, I know all the angles now and even what kind you like. My sister's one Slayer, and the other one is my friend, so you're pretty much safe from dustage."  
  
"And I'm only about 150 years older than you."  
  
"No, I'm older than you, I'm the Key, remember? I'm as old as the universe."  
  
Spike thought about it for a minute. "Hmmm, so you're the one robbing the cradle."  
  
"Have something against older women?" Dawn teased.  
  
"Nope, my favorite kind." Spike leered at her, then spun and started rummaging through a drawer. "Aha! Knew this might come in handy one day!"  
  
The small black velvet box rested in the palm of his hand, opened to reveal a simple gold band surmounted by a small, tasteful, beautiful emerald flanked by accent diamonds. "Dawn," Spike said, "Will you marry me?"


	4. Four

Just Good Friends   
  
Disclaimer: I only own 157 iron supplements and a grilled cheese sandwich, everything else belongs to the Powers that Be, AKA Joss and Co., who are kind enough to lend us the Buffyverse to play in. This is a Dawn/Spike fic (stop screaming! Give it a chance!) set five years in the future. Other than that, continuity is pretty much nonexistent.   
  
Part IV  
  
"Haven't been out to this part of town for a while," Buffy said as she and Faith walked towards Spike's crypt.   
  
"Nah," Faith said, burrowing deeper into her sweatshirt. "Having someone on our team actually living in the graveyard cuts down the activity for the rest of us."  
  
"Yeah. Remind me never to say anything to Giles about that."  
  
Faith laughed. "He might like it too much. Although, if we insist *HE* be the one to move, I bet that'll shut him up."  
  
"And leave his batchelor flat? Are you mad?" Buffy said, doing a Giles impression that left both grown women in giggles. A taxicab drove by them as they entered the gates of the cemetary, seemingly empty.  
  
As they approached Spike's crypt from behind, Buffy put out an arm to stop Faith. "Are you armed?"  
  
"Just with my woman's self-defense kit," Faith said, raising her sweatshirt just enough to show the top of a stake and a crucifix sticking out of the top of her jeans. "You're my parole officer, you know I can't carry hidden weapons. Why?"  
  
"I'm getting a feeling."  
  
Faith grinned wickedly. "I love that hack-and-maim feeling."  
  
Buffy'w brow was furrowed. "Let's go."  
  
They knocked on the door of Spike's crypt, and then went in two abreast. "Nothing here, B. Looks like he left in a hurry." Faith kicked a few t-shirts on the floor out of her way.  
  
Buffy had moved over to a college-style cinderblock bookcase where a picture frame balanced on top of a television set. She picked it up and said, "Cordy's right, they don't photograph well."  
  
"Huh?" Faith came over and took the picture from her. "Oh, please, B. They're a cute couple."  
  
"Couple of whats?" Buffy retorted as Faith handed her back the picture and returned to poking around.  
"Am I sensing some jealousy here?"  
"What? Me? Come on, Faith, just because he had a little crush on me all those years ago..."  
"I seem to remember someone kissing him 'all those years ago'."  
"WHAT?!! How did you find out about that?" Buffy stopped her nosing about and stared as Faith continued her search around the room.  
"Remember who the guy was who got me off my benders and into Recovery?"  
"Yeah, Spike. But what---"  
"He got me to the hospital in time because he and I were out drinking together. And he told me some things..."   
"Okay, so I kissed him. Once! And that was after he'd done several nice things for me. And it was the only time. I never reciprocated his feelings!"  
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Faith muttered under her breath.  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Nothing," Faith said, followed shortly by an "Uh oh."  
  
"Uh oh? What uh oh? What did you find?"  
  
Faith had something behind her back. "I want you to promise first not to overreact."  
  
"Faith, what is it?"   
  
"And give me that folding axe you've got in your shoulder holster."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You've got that 'decapitate-first-ask-questions-later' look again."  
  
"Fine, fine!" Buffy handed over the axe and Faith gave her a piece of paper.   
  
"Dear Buffy:  
Don't be mad. Spike proposed, and we're going to Nevada tonight to get married. Don't try to follow us. I'll call when we get settled. Love, Dawn.  
  
P.S. Keep your bloody hands off my stuff! Spike."  
  
Faith eyed the remains of the television with the practiced eye of someone who was an expert in demolition. "I give it a 7.3"  
  
"I'm going to kill him."  
  
"Oh, promises, promises," Faith said as she drug Buffy out the crypt door and began heading for Giles' house.   



	5. Five

  
Title: Just Good Friends  
  
Author: Spiffy Da WonderSheep  
  
Rating: PG for some cussing (bad Dawn!)  
  
Spoilers: Up to the Gift. Five years in the future though.  
  
Distribution: Eh, whatever. Warn me first please.  
  
Summary: Dawn gets a new boyfriend, and Buffy doesn't approve.  
  
Disclaimer: I own an empty Big Hunk wrapper and an internet logon to the NVC college system. Everything else belongs to Joss, May His Name Be Praised By The Highest Television Critics And Executives. It's Spike/Dawn. Sorry. I know I'm sick.  
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Part V  
  
"Buffy," Faith complained. "We've patrolled through fifteen casinos in five hours. All we've found are Koschecki demons aplenty and two non-peroxided vampires. My feet are killing me. Can we PLEASE stop now?"  
  
"No. The guy at the poker table said that the chapel is over here somewhere." Buffy continued striding down the red carpeted hallway of one of Vegas' best hotel/casinos. Faith was trailing her by about five feet.  
  
"Buffy! Buffy, wait! I think---" Giles paused in his talking to gulp air and attempt to run faster, while simultaneously juggling maps of every casino on the Strip. He was a good hundred yards behind the two Slayers, and losing ground fast. "I think we missed the turn for the Wedding Chapel."  
  
"No, the sign with the little arrow pointed this way," Buffy said.  
  
At that very moment, a person stepped into the hallway 20 feet ahead of Buffy. He turned towards them, and in the same moment, he and Buffy recognized each other, and started running.   
  
Of course, he was running away from Buffy.  
  
"Stop right there!" Buffy shouted.  
  
"Run, Spike!" Faith shouted, running after Buffy.  
  
"Oh bloody hell," Giles muttered, and tried to run faster.   
  
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"Hey, I haven't gotten to that part yet!" The celebrant said, startled. Spike had just torn up the aisle, grabbed Dawn's face in his hands, and kissed her passionatley.   
  
When they came up for air, Dawn asked, "She's here?"  
  
"You bet I'm here!" Buffy was up the aisle herself and on the platform like a flash.   
  
Dawn was faster, however, and had put herself between Spike and her sister's wrath. One hand was clamped vicelike on Spike's lapels, to keep him from escaping. "I am marrying William in about ten minutes."  
  
"No you're not!"  
  
Dawn continued calmly, as if she hadn't been interrupted. "You can either be present at the happiest moment of my life, or you can be escorted out by security. Ten seconds to decide."  
  
Faith was joined in the doorway of the chapel at this point by a red-faced Giles. She held up her wrist so they both could watch the countdown.   
  
It took about eight seconds before her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'll be good."  
  
Dawn squealed with delight and hugged Buffy. Faith grinned and hugged Giles. Spike let out a whoop of joy and picked up the celebrant, whirling him around. Then he realized what he was doing and put him down. "Sorry, mate."  
  
"T-that's okay."   
  
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"It was-- was a beyootiful ceremony," Giles slurred. He gestured wildly, and Faith caught him before he fell off the stool. "Jus' beyooootiful."   
  
"My siser, she was beyuteeful." Buffy said. Then, "To the beyuteeful bride!"  
  
"To the beyoootiful bride!" Giles said. Then, "Bartender! More champagne!"  
  
"I think it's time for the 'special' champagne," a very sober Faith said, grinning.  
  
"Ah, yes," winked the bartender. He took their glasses away to the opposite end of the bar, where anyone who was paying attention would have seen him fill them from a bottle of ginger ale.   
  
Buffy and Giles were not paying attention. "Beeeyoootiful." "Beyuteeeeeful."   
  
*clink* went the glasses.  
  
"Now, I guess, now I, guess I can't dust Spike." Buffy said, sadly.  
  
"Nope. No. I tink she said something about Alrbraninan Slugworts if you did," Giles added, helpfully.  
  
"They do make a cute couple." Buffy conceeded.  
  
"Yes they do." Giles agreed.  
  
"Cuter'n me and Spike."  
  
"Yes they do."  
  
"An' I'dve never been able to stand him for more than ten minutes."  
  
"No, you didn' "  
  
Buffy wobbled as she raised her glass, but stayed upright. "To the happy couple, may they be... happy!"  
  
"Hear hear!" Giles agreed loudly.  
  
"Hear hear," Faith said, and the three of them drank their champagne.  
  
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THE END (finally!) 


End file.
